Persistent short stature in children with intrauterine growth retardation: Use of growth hormone treatment

Since the early 1970s, it has been demonstrated that growth hormone (GH) treatment improves the short-term growth rate of children with short stature due to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). However, it is only in recent years that studies have been conducted in which children with IUGR have been followed to final height. It is appreciated that pharmacological doses of GH are required for the treatment of short children with IUGR, and that the initial effect of rapid advancement of epiphyseal maturation is probably due more to the natural history of growth in children with IUGR than to the GH treatment. Initial studies are promising, showing that the rapid improvement in growth rate is eventually translated into an improvement in final height. However, studies involving a larger number of children with IUGR are necessary in order to quantify this improvement in final height.